Region of California in the United States
Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the
U.S. state , of
California , north of
Southern California , which includes
Los Angeles , and south of
Northern California , which includes
San Francisco . It includes the northern portion of the
San Joaquin Valley (which itself is the southern portion of the
Central Valley , beginning at the
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta ), part of the
Central Coast , the central hills of the
California Coast Ranges and the foothills and mountain areas of the
central Sierra Nevada .
Central California is considered to be west of the crest of the
Sierra Nevada . East of the Sierra is
Eastern California . The largest cities in the region (over 50,000 population), from most to least populous, are
Fresno ,
Bakersfield ,
Stockton ,
Modesto ,
Salinas ,
Visalia ,
Clovis ,
Santa Maria ,
Merced ,
Turlock ,
Madera ,
Lodi ,
Tulare ,
Porterville ,
Hanford and
Delano . Over time,
droughts and
wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's
water security .
[1]
[2]
[3]
Geography
Central California can have widely varying definitions depending on the context. Some divide the state by lines of latitude making northern, central and southern sections. Others divide by county lines or watershed boundaries. Some definitions include more of the
San Joaquin Valley and even larger portions of the
Central Valley . Some have less or none of
Central Coast .
Merced River from
Yosemite
Big Sur
Counties
The rough definition of Central California includes some or all of the following 15 counties:
Cities
Area cities and towns listed below are major regional centers or county seats.
Salinas Valley
Sub-regions
The following regions are entirely contained within central California:
The following regions are partially contained within central California:
Education
Central California has opened two new universities recently, one in each of the past two decades.
The
University of California has one campus in the region.
University of California, Merced opened on a newly constructed site on the east side of
Merced in 2005.
The
California State University system has four campuses in the region.
California State University, Monterey Bay opened on the site of the former
Fort Ord army base in 1994.
California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock opened in 1957.
California State University, Fresno opened in 1911.
The
Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school that offers eleven master's degree programs in
international policy ,
international management ,
language teaching , and
translation and
interpretation . The
Monterey Institute of International Studies is a graduate school of
Middlebury College .
San Joaquin College of Law is a private, nonprofit law school located in
Clovis .
Fresno Pacific University is a private university in Fresno.
The
Naval Postgraduate School and
Defense Language Institute are located in Monterey.
The following
community college campus sites are in the region:
[4]
Columbia College in Sonora, Tuolumne County
Clovis Community College in Clovis, Fresno County
Fresno City College in Fresno, Fresno County
Hartnell College in Salinas, Monterey County
Merced College in Merced, Merced County
Modesto Junior College in Modesto, Stanislaus County
Monterey Peninsula College , Monterey, Monterey County
Porterville College in Porterville, Tulare County
Reedley College in Fresno, Fresno County
College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Tulare County
West Hills College Coalinga in Coalinga, Fresno County
West Hills College Lemoore in Lemoore, Kings County
Madera Community College in Madera, Madera County
Oakhurst Community College Center in Oakhurst, Madera County
[5]
There are no community colleges in Mariposa or San Benito Counties.
Transport
Major highways
Most of the major highways in the region run north-south around the mountains.
Interstate 5 and
State Route 99 are the primary highways in the San Joaquin Valley.
US 101 and
State Route 1 are the major coastal highways.
State Route 1 : Central Coast, Monterey, Big Sur
Interstate 5 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 25 : Hollister, Diablo Range, Pinnacles Nat'l Park
State Route 33 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 41 : San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, Yosemite Nat'l Park
State Route 43 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 49 : Gold Country
State Route 63 : San Joaquin Valley, Visalia
State Route 65 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 68 : Monterey, Salinas
State Route 99 : San Joaquin Valley, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Bakersfield
U.S. Route 101 : Salinas Valley, Salinas
State Route 108 : San Joaquin Valley, Modesto, Gold Country, Sonora, Sierra Nevada
State Route 120 : San Joaquin Valley, Gold Country, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite Nat'l Park
State Route 132 : San Joaquin Valley, Modesto, Gold Country
State Route 137 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 140 : San Joaquin Valley, Merced, Yosemite Nat'l Park
State Route 145 : San Joaquin Valley, Madera
State Route 146 : Pinnacles Nat'l Park
State Route 152 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 156 : Salinas Valley, Salinas, Hollister
State Route 168 : Fresno, Sierra Nevada
State Route 180 : San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, Kings Canyon Nat'l Park
State Route 190 : San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada
State Route 198 : Diablo Range, San Joaquin Valley, Hanford, Visalia, Sequoia Nat'l Park
State Route 201 : San Joaquin Valley
State Route 233 : Chowchilla
State Route 245 : San Joaquin Valley, Kings Canyon Nat'l Park
Rail
Passenger rail in the region consists of the Amtrak long-haul
Coast Starlight and the regional
San Joaquins routes.
The
California High-Speed Rail system is under construction between Merced and Bakersfield. In Central California, the system will have stations in Merced, Madera, Fresno, and the Kings–Tulare area. Planning is underway to extend the initial line to San Francisco/San Jose and Los Angeles.
Freight rail is served by commercial railroads.
Union Pacific Railroad and
BNSF Railway operate mainline freight through the region in the Central Valley.
Air
Major and regional airline services are available at
Fresno Yosemite International Airport and
Monterey Regional Airport . Regional airline service is also available at
Merced Regional Airport .
General Aviation airports exist in all ten counties. The largest are former military bases converted to civilian airports
An active military air base is at
Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County, and the
144th Fighter Wing is stationed at
Fresno Air National Guard Base in Fresno County.
Notes
Variations on significant/influential definitions of the term central California are collected in this section.
The following counties are self-described as being in central California or central within California:
Fresno County
Fresno County's intro paragraph on its web site says it is in central California.
[6]
Madera County
Madera County describes itself as located "in the exact center of California."
[7]
Madera County Economic Development Commission describes the county as "located in the geographical center of California".
[8]
Tulare County
Tulare County describes itself as "centrally located within the State of California".
[9]
The following are definitions by influential organizations:
The
National Register of Historic Places splits California three ways with lines across the map, with central California being approximately above Los Angeles County and below Santa Clara and Merced Counties.
[10]
The
California Department of Transportation , or CalTrans, has a wide definition of the central portion of the state with several multi-county districts which have "central" in the name, combining the
Central Coast and
Central Valley . The North Central district covers
Sacramento to
Chico . The Central district covers
Stockton to
Merced , and
Yosemite . The South Central district covers
Madera ,
Fresno , and
Bakersfield . The Central Coast district covers
Santa Cruz to
Monterey .
[11]
The Central California chapter of the
Better Business Bureau defines their central California region to exclude the coastal counties and include Mono, Inyo and Kern Counties. Their definition is
Fresno County ,
Inyo County ,
Kern County ,
Kings County ,
Madera County ,
Mariposa County ,
Merced County ,
Mono County , and
Tulare County .
[12]
References
General
^
"Drought.gov" . Retrieved November 20, 2021 . [
title missing ]
^ Boxall, Bettina; St. John, Paige (November 10, 2018).
"California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise" .
Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 11, 2018 .
^
"Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation" . National Integrated Drought Information System. Archived from
the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018 .
^
"College Listings" . California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. Archived from
the original on January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2010 .
^
"Oakhurst Community College Center" . Oakhurst Community College Center . Retrieved December 8, 2020 .
^
"About the County" .
Fresno County, California . Archived from
the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"Madera County Statistical Information" .
Madera County, California . Archived from
the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"Madera County Economic Development Commission" . Madera County Economic Development Commission. Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"About Tulare County" .
Tulare County, California . Archived from
the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"Map of California" .
National Register of Historic Places . Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"Highway Information Area Maps" .
California Department of Transportation . Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
^
"Contact Us" . Central California
Better Business Bureau . Retrieved January 24, 2010 .
Specific
External links
37°N 120°W / 37°N 120°W / 37; -120